From: owner-alloy-digest@smoe.org (alloy-digest) To: alloy-digest@smoe.org Subject: alloy-digest V3 #284 Reply-To: alloy@smoe.org Sender: owner-alloy-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-alloy-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk X-To-Unsubscribe: Send mail to "alloy-digest-request@smoe.org" X-To-Unsubscribe: with "unsubscribe" as the body. alloy-digest Friday, October 23 1998 Volume 03 : Number 284 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Alloy: many happy returns,... ["Ulfstedt, Louise" ] Alloy: iMacs [Lem Bingley ] Re: Alloy: gothic..cemeteries... [Rochelle Kirby <104040.2055@com] Re: Alloy: To All at Alloy [Rochelle Kirby <104040.2055@compuserve.com>] Alloy: gothic..cemeteries... [RThurF@aol.com] Re: Alloy: Gate to the Minds Eye [lae ] Re: Alloy: many happy returns,... [lae ] Re: Alloy: The continuing saga of Slarvi V Microsoft [DThurkirk@aol.com] Re: Alloy: gothic..cemeteries... <.swoon> [CJMark@aol.com] Re: Alloy: The continuing saga of Slarvi V Microsoft [TBlagg@aol.com] Re: Alloy: To All at Alloy [TBlagg@aol.com] Alloy: Culture Play [TBlagg@aol.com] Re: Alloy: Gate to the Minds Eye [TBlagg@aol.com] Re: Alloy: speaking of imports [TBlagg@aol.com] Re: Alloy: Radio Silence (speaking of imports) [lae ] Re: Alloy: Gate to the Minds Eye [Robyn Moore ] Re: Alloy: gothic..cemeteries... [Robyn Moore ] Alloy: Atari Geeks! [Elaine Linstruth ] Re: Alloy: gothic..cemeteries... [RThurF@aol.com] Alloy: what's your costume? [RThurF@aol.com] Re: Alloy: To All at Alloy [Rochelle Kirby <104040.2055@compuserve.com>] Alloy: intro... (mercifully brief) [RThurF@aol.com] Re: Alloy: To All at Alloy [IT Admin - Govt Office North West ] Re: Alloy: To All at Alloy [Rochelle Kirby <104040.2055@compuserve.com>] Re: Alloy: gothic..cemeteries... <.swoon> [Robyn Moore ] Re: Alloy: gothic..cemeteries... [Robyn Moore ] Alloy: The Ragin' Cajun [Chris Cracknell ] Re: Alloy: gothic..cemeteries... <.swoon> [Chris Cracknell ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 09:54:59 +0300 From: "Ulfstedt, Louise" Subject: Alloy: many happy returns,... That is me,...happy about returning after yet another bout of the dreaded lurgie. And a belated happy birthday to the maestro himself! After another two weeks away, and 130 mails to scan through, I can't say I'm completely up to date, but I did want to say hi to all the newbies and wave at you all from Finland (yes, after a non existant summer, we are plunging down into the dark days again, only to be comforted by mulled wine, woolly socks and assorted dolby CDs (including my treasured signed copy from the "dolby" awards,....sigh,....) And this may be dreadfully inappropriate,....but Iae,...(alan is it?),...you have cheered my whole dreary month up with those concert mp3s,...all I can say is WOW! oh. And I miss John,....what on earth happened? I didn't see anything as I scanned through the backlog to warrant the loss of my other "county-man",....hmmpphh,.... well,...I shall back to my convalescing and background lurking. missed you all,.......smoochy stuff, Lissu :-) P.S. Crackers,...you devil,....your mix tape is wearing out and has brainwashed me,...and I desparatley need some pointers, advice and even links for more Zydeco and Cajun,....please help feed my habit! > -----Original Message----- > From: lae [SMTP:lae2@bellsouth.net] > Sent: 23 October 1998 06:58 > To: alloy@smoe.org > Subject: Re: Alloy: The continuing saga of Slarvi V Microsoft > > > DThurkirk@aol.com wrote: > > > > > > For all the headache Microsoft can cause a person Apple can triple them. > > > > > HERE HERE! > > > Macs strategy has always been to get you to buy a new (and expensive) > machine as often as > > possible. > > I couldn't have said it better. > I read your post too late DT, I'd have saved my opinion and let yours > ride. > > I do anyway. > Alan ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 04:25:28 EDT From: CJMark@aol.com Subject: Re: Alloy: to clarify! Dear Dave.. As far as I'm concerned.. that was how I viewed any comments you or anyone else made too.. all in good humor... perhaps someone else didn't.. I'm not sure.. Ciao for now.. Mark ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 04:26:20 EDT From: CJMark@aol.com Subject: Re: Alloy: hey, thanks and stuff... Well said.. Chuck.. LOL! Mark ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 04:37:40 EDT From: CJMark@aol.com Subject: Re: Alloy: Humor, Mistakes, Etc. Dear Melissa.. I understand what you are saying about trying to defend the country to people in other nations. I find it ironic that quite frequently the very people who often find America to be so undercultured.. are the same ones that move here from their "cultured" countries. What is it that they like here? Could it be that the telephone system actually works? Could it be the 7-11 stores on every corner open 24 hours? There must be something.. Most of my own personal experience is with European people in this regard.. be they Italian.. French.. German.. English.. or Serbian.. amongst others. Having lived in Italy for a number of years.. I have seen our country from outside.. and I fully understand that the U.S. has its faults too.. but the joy of knowing other cultures is to embrace the differences.. and yes.. to laugh at them sometimes.. too. I live here in the U.S. by choice.. and I feel fortunate to be able to do so. It doesn't stop me from immensely enjoying my visits to other countries.. but when I get there.. I don't complain.. I just try to figure our what tastes best.. By the way.. I actually couldn't set your Russian travel stories down this morning.. they were fabuloso!! I avoided work an extra hour to get to the end.. but I saved the Thai trip for the weekend.. thanks for writing them.. and for sending them.!! Ciao for now.. Mark ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 04:44:19 EDT From: CJMark@aol.com Subject: Re: Alloy: To All at Alloy Dear Rochelle.. You are a gem.. that is all that needs to be said.. as far as I'm concerned. Thanks for sending your letter to Mr. D. The thoughts you expressed were thoughts that most of us here in Alloy have most likely had.. but perhaps not actually sent. Thanks!!! .. oh.. and rules.. ?? What rules?? I guess the only rule is courtesy. Ciao for now.. Mark ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 04:46:10 EDT From: CJMark@aol.com Subject: Re: Alloy: x LOL Robin.. You crack me up.. now.. that was meant in only the best way! I promise!! Ciao for now.. Mark ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 06:22:28 -0400 From: Rochelle Kirby <104040.2055@compuserve.com> Subject: Alloy: Gate to the Minds Eye I found my CD of Aliens at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Ohio...(I grabbed it up since I was also having a hard time finding it). Suggestion: scoure used CD stores. As for the Gate, yes he sings. There are several songs on the album (it's worth the investment). Rochelle ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 11:17:42 +0100 From: Lem Bingley Subject: Alloy: iMacs Slarvi wrote: > has anyone got one of these new ones (I-Mac I think they're called)? I know that Macs have already been roundly trashed on the list, but I just thought I'd observe that the iMac seems to be a particular rip-off. We had one in here for review at IT Week. First, having spent GBP999 on the thing you'll immediately have to buy a new mouse. The iMac's mouse is, IMHO, completely unusable. It's like a giant mint imperial, I've no idea who thought this would be a comfortable shape to hold, but they were wrong. I found that I had to hold it with my hand crouched on it like a startled tarantula. No doubt RSI would quickly follow. A touch of design purity over practicality, I fear. The second thing wrong with it is the CD drive, which is a laptop style cheap and nasty flimsy thing - it doesn't motor drive out but pops-and-pulls out, and all the laser-reader gubbins is then exposed to the world with its greasy prying fingers etc. Don't even think about using the CD platter as a cup-holder... The keyboard feel was horrible too. The whole thing reeked of cost-cutting and corner-cropping to me. And even if I don't use a floppy drive very often, I still think it would be a pain to own a machine that doesn't have one. Buy a PC. NEC Direct do a fantastic line in over-the-phone purchasing in the UK. For around the price of an iMac you can get an NEC Direction SML-266L. It's a 266MHz Pentium II with 64MB RAM, 5.7GB disk, CD, Floppy, sound, speakers, 17inch monitor, Win98, Word97, Works4, drawing and art stuff, voice recognition, and a load of other stuff. The cost, including VAT and delivery, is GBP1090.40. My Dad just bought one, in fact, and he's really pretty pleased. You can call them on 0870 0106322. Oh, and no, I don't have shares in NEC :-) Lem ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 06:24:33 -0400 From: Rochelle Kirby <104040.2055@compuserve.com> Subject: Re: Alloy: gothic..cemeteries... Have you also attempted to scare your friends? Or do you love cemetaries? (I do, but no one who knows me would think such a thing). Here's a Dolby tie-in: Some of the prettiest cemetaries are in New Orleans. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 06:29:08 -0400 From: Rochelle Kirby <104040.2055@compuserve.com> Subject: Re: Alloy: To All at Alloy If you try the Presidio thing, go to the far right corner of the cemetary (it's the top of the hill), turn off your headlights, put your car in neutral and coast down to the bottom. Another good album to listen to for this is "The Planets" by Holst (if you are doing this at Halloween, beware of people who may be there, or leave your lights on). And, yes, I acknowledge just such a correlation between the traits and interests of these creative people... (I'm looking over my shoulders now) Rochelle ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 08:22:34 EDT From: RThurF@aol.com Subject: Alloy: gothic..cemeteries... In a message dated 10/23/98 6:27:40 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 104040.2055@compuserve.com writes: << Have you also attempted to scare your friends? Or do you love cemetaries? (I do, but no one who knows me would think such a thing). Here's a Dolby tie-in: Some of the prettiest cemetaries are in New Orleans. >> I do love cemeteries, especially the older ones with more unusual engravings/architecture, but it isn't that they frighten me... i just find them peaceful & I love to look at the markers, read the dates, & wonder about the lives of the people there. As for scaring my friends... I'd hate to think what it would take to scare them... I know a lot of horror movie & ghost story buffs who'd have an easier time scaring me, I'm sure! I'll do my 'intro' tonight when i'm back from work! Robin T ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 09:13:49 -0700 From: lae Subject: Re: Alloy: Gate to the Minds Eye Brian Clayton wrote: > > The Gate to the Mind's Eye does, indeed, contain vocals from TMDR, > including the marvelous "Valley of the Mind's Eye," which alone is > worth the price of admission! > That's one of TD's best recorded moments. Particularly the synth solo work. I love his use of 6ths (musicians?). ALan ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 09:24:53 -0700 From: lae Subject: Re: Alloy: many happy returns,... Ulfstedt, Louise wrote: > > And this may be dreadfully inappropriate,....but Iae,...(alan is it?),...you > have cheered my whole dreary month up with those concert mp3s,...all I can > say is WOW! Yes, it is, but I don't mind. I figure that by now TD must know about it, but it is only a radio broadcast, and a short one at that. I doubt it will ever see the light of day in any other form (commercially or otherwise). I'm dying to get my hands on Live Wireless for the opportunity to remaster Sampson and Delilah. I'm sure I could cut and paste the bridge together and finally make the track cohesive. If anyone's got LW, I'd like to get a copy. thanks Alan ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 09:20:49 EDT From: DThurkirk@aol.com Subject: Re: Alloy: The continuing saga of Slarvi V Microsoft In a message dated 10/22/98 9:39:42 PM Eastern Daylight Time, lae2@bellsouth.net writes: << Macs are superior in the graphics dept., otherwise, they're a headache when they're a minority in the office (file sharing, networking, MORE EXPENSIVE, etc). Unless you're a nut about pixels per sq in., or an extreme speed demon, stick with a nice middle of the road PC like a Dell or HP, or AST with no less than 133mhz Pentium, a 4+ GB HD, and about 32Mb Ram. A good sound blaster card is a must as well. My $0.02 Alan >> I work in graphics. Believe me the superiority is a thing of yesterday. __Dave T ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 12:12:39 EDT From: CJMark@aol.com Subject: Re: Alloy: gothic..cemeteries... <.swoon> Dear Rochelle et al.. With the Hallowed Eve' .. one of my favorite nights.. right around the corner, let's talk cemeteries.. Hmm.. Way back when I was in high school in the north end suburbs of Seattle.. (Whew.. I'm surprised I can remember that far back.) I bought my first car with a friend of mine for $150. It was a 1939 Buick Ambulance. It was huge.. drove like a truck.. with bulging fish eye type headlights and big sweeping fenders over the front wheels.. The flashing red emergency lights above the front and rear windows were custom shaped right into the body. The only thing was.. a previous owner had painted it entirely black.. so it was this really ominous looking vehicle.. long.. enormous.. and hearse looking. We loved it! At the time.. there was a cemetary a few miles into the countryside.. Maltby Cemetary.. it was in the woods.. up a long dirt road.. and surrounded by forest. The cemetary was very old and rundown.. no one had kept it up for years. You could wander away from the dirt clearing that was the parking lot.. and find gravestones amongst the underbrush marked from the 20s and 30s.. At the time.. Playboy Magazine actually rated it as one of the top 10 scariest places in the U.S.. It had that great of a reputation. Needless to say.. we were there! We'd load up our ambulance/hearse with a group of friends at the local Artic Circle drive-in burger joint.. and head out to the cemetary. At the clearing.. there was enough room for a few cars to park.. with about 3 more dirt and underbrush roads heading off further into the woods. It really was spooky in its own right. Once there.. we'd back the ambulance into one of the other road entrances.. and all but one or two of us would all get out of the ambulance and filter into the woods at a few different spots around the clearing. Then.. the inevitable car would come up the entry road to the clearing.. either a couple for some teenaged passion.. or a few kids looking for a place to drink illicit beer and scare each other. (That's you Rochelle!) The car would enter the clearing but not immediately see the ambulance sitting there facing them.. since it was black. Then.. whoever was in the car would flip the switch and start the red emergency lights aglow. They would not really flash.. but instead they would glow on.. and glow off. slowly.. eerily alternating from one side to the other. It was a beautiful set up.. the people in the car would see the lights and barely make out the ambulance and start motioning to each other. Meanwhile.. the rest of us would begin coming out of the woods at different spots.. all walking like the zombies from George Romero's classic.. "Night of the Living Dead" slowly.. slowly.. half walking / stumbling / lurching toward their car. We never had any ill intention at all.. we were there only for the fun. But the people in the cars would zing out of there like there was no tomorrow. We'd all crack up and scatter back into the woods for the next car's arrival. Of course.. this was in the 70's.. before kids carried Uzi's. Today this sort of activity is highly risky, to say the least. What a shame. :-( Ciao for now.. and Happy Halloween! Oh.. by the way.. what is your costume? Mark ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 14:48:23 EDT From: TBlagg@aol.com Subject: Re: Alloy: The continuing saga of Slarvi V Microsoft Slarv my old mate, MACS are superb with audio and business applications, but for diversity of software and application P.C. is the way to go (if you can put up with the odd crash here and there!). I've had experience of both formats and I still believe MACs are more stable when running applications such as Cubase VST 3.553. However, I've just reformatted my hard drive and loaded Windows 98 on a P2 and it hasn't crashed once. Not even in Cubase!!!! MACS are also dead expensive but if you can afford it and want to run audio and/or Business software - Goooo for it! Trev..... ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 14:48:26 EDT From: TBlagg@aol.com Subject: Re: Alloy: To All at Alloy Rochelle, You touched many with your letter including Thomas himself. I myself am relatively new to this list having searched unsuccessfully for a fan club via snail-mail for years. The chat here is friendly and informative. We share experiences, loves and TMDR trivia. Sometimes you may find that we lose the plot, diversifiyng far from the core subject. This is most likely due to the fact that as a unit we are so close that we feel comfortable doing this. It's always exciting to hear of another fan until I joined this list I was convinced I was the only one remaining as his most recent albums never touched the U.K. charts. Believe it or not, the list were actually discussing you, hoping that you would join after Thomas forwarded your letter on to us. And here you are! Welcome Rochelle.....Have fun! Trevor B. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 14:48:36 EDT From: TBlagg@aol.com Subject: Alloy: Culture Play Banter is what we live for....Banter gives us hope.....Banter makes us smile......Banter puts things into perspective.........Banter allows us to look upon ourselves subjectively..........Banter is not serious, but essential.......Banter is a sign of a developed society. In a recent interview on American television, John Cleese gave three differences between the English and Americans: 1.) "We speak English." 2.) "When we hold a world championship, we invite other countries to compete." 3.) "You only have to go down on one knee when you visit our head of state." Love Trev..... P.S. I await your Banter....... ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 14:48:31 EDT From: TBlagg@aol.com Subject: Re: Alloy: Gate to the Minds Eye Hey Matt, "Gate to The Mind's Eye" is both Intrumental and text ridden. Thomas sings on the following tracks; Valley of the Mind's Eye (One of Thomas' best ever in my view) Nuvogue NEO (Just a small rap) The main vocalist is a female Italian Scientist. The rest are intrumental except for Quantum Mechanic, which again is sung by the Italian Scientist. These tracks are identical to the Video of the same. Welcome to the list Matt! (Feel free to divulge why you are a fan of Mr D.) (P.S. I'm also searching for Aliens on CD for someone else, it's a pain to get hold of now!) Best Wishes, Trev... ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 14:48:33 EDT From: TBlagg@aol.com Subject: Re: Alloy: speaking of imports In a message dated 23/10/98 04:57:39 GMT, stemish@lns.com (Brian Clayton) writes: << Much like Retrospectacle, but sacrificing the A&H tunes for a different selection of AAMB songs. I don't suppose for a moment that this is the 'guitar' version of Radio Silence? I guess that would be asking too much, huh? :) >> 'Fraid Knot my old chum! It's the regular RS. Definitely worth a CD release though me thinks? Trev B. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 15:58:40 -0700 From: lae Subject: Re: Alloy: Radio Silence (speaking of imports) TBlagg@aol.com wrote: > > stemish@lns.com (Brian Clayton) > writes: > > << I don't suppose for a moment that this is the 'guitar' version of Radio Silence? I guess that > would be asking too much, huh? :) > >> > > 'Fraid Knot my old chum! It's the regular RS. Hold everything. The Guitar version *IS* the regular version of Radio Silence. It was the first version recorded, and appears on the first and second US releases of TGAOW. The Lena Lovich intensive rendition to me was just a drastic remix included on subsequent releases. The original RS Rocks, and is hard to come by. To me the 2nd *LL* version is the irregular version. Alan ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 13:01:01 -0700 From: Robyn Moore Subject: Re: Alloy: Gate to the Minds Eye At 03:22 AM 10/23/98 , you wrote: > >I found my CD of Aliens at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Ohio...(I >grabbed it up since I was also having a hard time finding it). Suggestion: >scoure used CD stores. As for the Gate, yes he sings. There are several >songs on the album (it's worth the investment). Agreed on both counts. I also have the best luck finding Aliens at used CD stores. As far as Gate is concerned, you need to have the CD if for no other reason than Thomas' rap on N.E.O. that isn't on the video. :) Robyn M @ Robyn Moore @ http://www.alveus.com/kbrm/robyn.html @ You knew the job was dangerous when you took it. - S.C. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 13:10:04 -0700 From: Robyn Moore Subject: Re: Alloy: gothic..cemeteries... At 05:22 AM 10/23/98 , you wrote: >I do love cemeteries, especially the older ones with more unusual >engravings/architecture, but it isn't that they frighten me... i just find >them peaceful & I love to look at the markers, read the dates, & wonder about >the lives of the people there. As for scaring my friends... I'd hate to think >what it would take to scare them... I know a lot of horror movie & ghost story >buffs who'd have an easier time scaring me, I'm sure! Somehow, this reminds me of an assignment I had in one of my creative writing classes in college. We all trouped over to the campus cemetery, and each of us had to pick a tombstone that appealed to us and write what we thought the person whose it was was like. Needless to say, being a fan of cemeteries, I enjoyed it thoroughly. :) Have you ever read Peter S. Beagle's story "A Fine and Private Place"? It's a lovely story set in a cemetery. I should read it again myself one of these days. Robyn M @ Robyn Moore @ http://www.alveus.com/kbrm/robyn.html @ You knew the job was dangerous when you took it. - S.C. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 14:42:32 -0700 (PDT) From: Elaine Linstruth Subject: Alloy: Atari Geeks! Hey Crackers, I got a bunch of Atari 2600 games at eBay; 16 for about 9 bucks, to be exact. Since you're the expert, tell me if any of these are good trades: Pac-man, GI Joe Cobra Strike, Bugs, Atlantis, Pole Position, Zaxxon, Cosmic Ark, Dodge 'em, Laser Blast, Berzerk, Encounter at L-5, Missile Command, Sneak'n Peek, Home Run, Video Pinball, Boxing. CJ is going to stop at Radio Shack on the way home & we're gonna see if we can get the ol' unit going tonight. Also have no switchbox, and no paddlewheels. But I'm not giving up the ship yet! Whoever you are, please come forward again, with the Atari Clock Cartridge. I'm interested in buying one if they're available! Sorry for the unscheduled leap into Atariland..I just had to ask the master if I Done Good? - -- Elaine Linstruth Palmdale, CA (USA) On Fri, 11 Sep 1998, Chris Cracknell wrote: > classic games in the meanwhile for your 2600, just send me your Snail > Mail address and I'll send you some of my trade fodder OCs (OC is a > collector's term for O.bnoxiously C.ommon - Carts are rated from OC to > UR (U.believably R.are) and the value of the carts is determined by > it's rarity (and condition) so they run the gammit from being worth 25 > cents to $250 (some carts will even fetch over $500 US)). ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 18:00:51 EDT From: RThurF@aol.com Subject: Re: Alloy: gothic..cemeteries... In a message dated 10/23/98 4:15:42 PM Eastern Daylight Time, kbrm@iefx.com writes: << Have you ever read Peter S. Beagle's story "A Fine and Private Place"? It's a lovely story set in a cemetery. I should read it again myself one of these days. >> I don't know if I've read it, though the title sounds familiar. Has it been published in any anthologies lately? Your writing assignment sounds like it must have been fun. Come to think of it, writing speculative stories like that based on the headstones' information could be a very good writing exercise just generally, if you run into a case of writers' block, as I seem to always get. I'll have to try it! Robin T ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 18:07:22 EDT From: RThurF@aol.com Subject: Alloy: what's your costume? Mark, I wish you still had your ambulance! That must have been a beautiful car! Got any pictures you could scan in for us? Csotumes... I'm going for an understated look this year. I bought some fabric that has a print of realistic looking spiders & webs, and I'm making a dress to wear to work the Friday before Halloween. I'm hoping to find some aerosol cobwebs at the drugstore, to put in my hair... and maybe some dead fly earrings? (faux dead flies of course) If not, the my antique opticians' lens earrings should do nicely, since they look like tiny magnifying glasses one might examine an insect with... Robin T ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 18:15:58 -0400 From: Rochelle Kirby <104040.2055@compuserve.com> Subject: Re: Alloy: To All at Alloy Message text written by INTERNET:alloy@smoe.org >This message powered by the "Live Wireless" version of 'Radio Silence'.< I keep seeing these "powered by" messages. What do they mean? Rochelle ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 19:33:01 EDT From: RThurF@aol.com Subject: Alloy: intro... (mercifully brief) I thoght I'd add my intro to the others which have already been posted, hoping all the rest of you join in,.! I've been married for almost 7 years to Dave T (on this list!) & we have no children, and two lovely ferrets. I'm 30, came to Boston six years ago to study Violin Making & Restoration (hoping to specialize one day in early music/historical instruments, and modern double basses) I graduated from the program three years ago & now work at a violin shop here. My current personal project is a viola da gamba I'm making from plans taken off the 16th century original instrument currently housed in the Shrine to Music Museum. I also work in visual arts, painting (which my husband is teaching me!), drawing and now, embroidery design. I'm very excited, because we are finally going to photograph some of my own art work this weekend, & add it to our web page! Possibly some of my writing will go there too, but I'm not sure. I've been reading poems from Tim's brother's book which just got published, though, so now I'm inspired. I have the book on my sewing table & read one or two of his poems a night, as a treat when i finish up. I love them!!! I used to play double bass, but have been studying cello for the past two & a half years. I've had to give that up because of a wrist injury this summer, but am preparing to get back to my studies. One thing I'm really looking forward to is finally getting to learn the accompaniment to a few of Thomas' songs... after many years of yearning for sheet music, I finally came across a copy of the Thomas Dolby Songbook which I won at auction on eBay. it awaits my attentions in my music file, even as we speak. I first heard Thomas Dolby when I was at my friend's house watching mtv in 1983, "She Blinded Me.." was my first exposure to him & I instantly fell for him head-over-heels. I bought the mini-lp "Blinded by Science" with my scrounged-together allowance & it was constantly on the turntable in my room. 'One of Our Submarines' and 'Airwaves' were the very best for playing in the middle of the night when everyone else was asleep, for some reason...mysterious & tantalizing. For 'Airwaves' I always imagined - this is my fifteen-year-old mind working here, remember! - two isolated survivors of a post-nuclear landscape (as portrayed, of course, by young Thomas and I ;) attempting to establish connection with any other survivors.. as most of us will recall the idea of thermonuclear disaster was a real threat in the 80's, hence this translation I'm sure. And besides, being an isolated survivor together with a devastatingly good-looking genius didn't seem like it'd be a half bad way to go... "Submarines" reminded me of a true story from my dad's WWII days, and the sinking of the HMS Arrow. I can't even express how excited I am at the thought of hearing Thomas' new work, his beautiful voice..! I want to hear it & it will be well worth the wait. I'm so pleased!! Robin T ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 24 Oct 1998 01:04:49 +0100 (BST) From: IT Admin - Govt Office North West Subject: Re: Alloy: To All at Alloy At 20:22 22/10/98 -0400, Rochelle wrote: > > >Is this a place where people just come to speak there mind and the common >thread is a love for Dolby music?? > >R. Kirby > > As others have said, that's what we're here for, and also to exchange views on life, the universe and everything. I'll add my welcome at this point. Some of us have been on this list for a longish time (since 96 in my case). Prior to that some of us used to meet up in the Flat Earth Society (FES) Tap Room for a chin-wag. Regretably, the Tap Room is no longer with us (may it R.I.P), nor was the FES when I looked for it today. Ahhhh, happy days. Some of us use handles from our Tap Room days. Mine was Slarvibarglhee, which is an anagram of my real name. I chose it because I thought it wisest not to use my real name originally, and also because I like it. It was first used by a colleague of mine, one of whose hobbies was making anagram names for his friends and colleagues. Quite a few of the FES folk ended up subscribing to Alloy, for which we'll be eternally grateful to Paul Bailey in Australia who was the creator of Alloy. In fact it's onlt a few months since RobinT took over from Paul as regulator. If you want to see what some of us are like, there are snaps at http://www.thehub.com.au/~paulb/scrap/scrapbook.html This is certainly NOT a list where a lot of flaming takes place. In all the time I've been a subscriber, there has only been ONE person who was asked to regulate his comments or be excommunicated. He chose the latter option. Apart from that, chat has almost always been good natured, and very varied in nature. I like to think of it as a kind of high-tec pen-pals club. Occasionally we'll mail each other direct, usually when ther subject of our conversation is not likely to be of interest to Alloy at large. On a personal note, I'm one of the few members from England. I live in Chorlton-cum-Hardy (yes, this IS a real place), which is a suburb of Manchester. I'm one of the 'older' members, a little older than Thomas in years, but still juvenile in mind a lot of the time. I work as a computer network administrator for a govnernment department. I'm married with two kids in their late teens and one wife, a dog, a cat, and a variable number of cold-water fish. Apart from Mr Dolby, I like all kinds of music, with the exception of rap, which simply doesn't appeal to me. Being an aging hippie (but with a sensible haircut), I like a lot of the old 'progressive' rock from the 60s and 70s e.g. Jethro Tull, Procul Harum, Genesis, ELP, Frank Zappa, King Crimson, Yes, John Martyn, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Neil Young, etc. but I also like a lot of contemporary stuff like Sheryl Crow, Blue Nile, Moke, Alanis Morrissettttte, The Corrs, Kula Shakerrrrrrrrrrrr and many , many more. I think I'm about due for my mid-life crisis, but I keep putting it off because I'm too busy, and I think it's over rated anyway. If I won a lot of filthy lucre on the lottery I 'd like to arrange an Alloy convention so I could meet up with the folk who've become my good friends over the last couple of years. Now, I must away to my bed, as I'm worknig overtime this week end and I should really make an early start tomorrow .... er, later today. TTFN Slarv ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 24 Oct 1998 01:06:38 +0100 (BST) From: IT Admin - Govt Office North West Subject: Re: Alloy: To All at Alloy At 18:15 23/10/98 -0400, Rochelle asked: > >I keep seeing these "powered by" messages. What do they mean? > >Rochelle > > Simply that that's what the writer was listening to while composing their message. Slarv ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 21:17:51 -0400 From: Rochelle Kirby <104040.2055@compuserve.com> Subject: Re: Alloy: To All at Alloy Message text written by INTERNET:alloy@smoe.org >Simply that that's what the writer was listening to while composing their message. < Oh! Thank you for the clarification. I like that. Makes it a little more personal. Rochelle Powered by Budapest By Blimp ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 22:03:14 -0400 From: Rochelle Kirby <104040.2055@compuserve.com> Subject: Re: Alloy: To All at Alloy Oh, I'm so sorry but I just sent my last two notes to the wrong address (I'm still getting used to this format of corresponding)... I will try not to do it again, just bear with me a bit longer. Rochelle ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 19:39:01 -0700 From: Robyn Moore Subject: Re: Alloy: gothic..cemeteries... <.swoon> At 09:12 AM 10/23/98 , you wrote: >We never had any ill intention at all.. we were there only for the fun. But >the people in the cars would zing out of there like there was no tomorrow. >We'd all crack up and scatter back into the woods for the next car's arrival. >Of course.. this was in the 70's.. before kids carried Uzi's. Today this >sort of activity is highly risky, to say the least. What a shame. :-( Oh, that does sound like fun. :) Whatever happened to the car? >Ciao for now.. and Happy Halloween! Oh.. by the way.. what is your costume? Currently, to take the little one trick-or-treating, I'm planning on carving an H out of one of those holographic bookmarks, pasting it to my forehead, and going as a Hologram. I expect I'll get more mileage out of it at the SF con I'm going to next month, though. ;) Robyn M @ Robyn Moore @ http://www.alveus.com/kbrm/robyn.html @ You knew the job was dangerous when you took it. - S.C. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 19:44:39 -0700 From: Robyn Moore Subject: Re: Alloy: gothic..cemeteries... At 03:00 PM 10/23/98 , you wrote: >I don't know if I've read it, though the title sounds familiar. Has it been >published in any anthologies lately? I haven't the slightest...I'd have to check around. >Your writing assignment sounds like it must have been fun. Come to think of >it, writing speculative stories like that based on the headstones' information >could be a very good writing exercise just generally, if you run into a case >of writers' block, as I seem to always get. I'll have to try it! Come to think of it, that does sound like a good use for it. You're so clever. ;) Robyn M @ Robyn Moore @ http://www.alveus.com/kbrm/robyn.html @ You knew the job was dangerous when you took it. - S.C. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 23:35:51 -0400 (EDT) From: Chris Cracknell Subject: Alloy: The Ragin' Cajun I'm glad you're enjoying my selection of Zydeco and Cajun music on the mix tape Lissu. As for a source of more such music you might want to check your local library. Here in Hamilton not too many record stores have a Cajun/Zydeco section but I did find a number of CDs at my local library. For Zydeco you might want to check out stuff by Clifton Chenier. I prefer him to Buckwheat Zydeco. For Cajun stuff I'd go with Nathan Abshire, the Great Cajun Accordionist and an interesting female trio would be the Magnolia Sisters. CRACKERS (Secret Cajun Man from hell!!!!!!) - -- Collector of Atari 2600 carts - Accordionist - Bira Bira Devotee - Anime fan * http://www.hwcn.org/~ad329/crab.html | Crackers' Arts Base * * http://www.angelfire.com/ma/hozervideo/index.html | Hozer Video Games * Nihongo ga dekimasu - 2600 programmer - Father of 2 great kids - Canadian eh ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 23:35:41 -0400 (EDT) From: Chris Cracknell Subject: Re: Alloy: gothic..cemeteries... <.swoon> In article <2e8d5c0b.3630aaf7@aol.com>, you wrote: >Dear Rochelle et al.. > >With the Hallowed Eve' .. one of my favorite nights.. right around the corner, >let's talk cemeteries.. Hmm.. ~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~ The town of Simcoe, where I grew up, had a very old cemetary with graves dating back to the 1700s. (It's actually quite sad to see what the infant mortality rate was like up until the mid 20th century). There is one very old crypt that is big, black, and covered with nasty iron spikes and thick iron doors. It houses the body of a man the original settlers of Simcoe believed to be a vampire. The stones have cracked at the back of the crypt leaving a hole big enough to fit a hand through. As kids we used to dare each other to see who would stick their hand in the furthest. My friend Scott Freisen started sticking his hand in, then screamed and rammed his hand in all the way to the sholder. He then started slamming his body against the crypt screaming like a maniac. Well being the friends that we were.... we scattered like the four winds screaming. We all gathered latter wondering what we should do when Scott came over the hill laughing his ass off. We must have been around 10 at the time and I had nearly soiled myself. It really looked like something had grabbed him and was yanking him into the crypt. There is also a very lonely gravestone in the middle of the woods near Turkey Point of a 17 year old girl who was hanged in the 1700s for witchcraft. It's quite isolated but it's a popular spot to visit on Hallowe'en. CRACKERS (18th century cemetaries from hell!!) - -- Collector of Atari 2600 carts - Accordionist - Bira Bira Devotee - Anime fan * http://www.hwcn.org/~ad329/crab.html | Crackers' Arts Base * * http://www.angelfire.com/ma/hozervideo/index.html | Hozer Video Games * Nihongo ga dekimasu - 2600 programmer - Father of 2 great kids - Canadian eh ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 23:35:48 -0400 (EDT) From: Chris Cracknell Subject: Re: Alloy: Atari Geeks! In article , you wrote: >Hey Crackers, I got a bunch of Atari 2600 games at eBay; 16 for about 9 >bucks, to be exact. Since you're the expert, tell me if any of these are >good trades: ~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~ Pac-man, Obnoxiously Common (OC) GI Joe Cobra Strike, Uncommon (U) Bugs, Uncommon (U) Atlantis, Uncommon (U) Pole Position, Common (C) Zaxxon, Uncommon (U) Cosmic Ark, Obnoxiously Common (OC) Dodge 'em, Uncommon (U) Laser Blast, Common (C) Berzerk, Obnoxiously Common (OC) Encounter at L-5, Uncommon (U) Missile Command, Obnoxiously Common (OC) Sneak'n Peek, Rare (R) Home Run, Common (C) Video Pinball, Common (C) Boxing. Atari Realsports Boxing Uncommon (U) Activision Boxing Uncommon (U) 9 bucks for 16 games is a good price. Nothing too rare, but some really fun games in the lot. Encounter at L-5 is the only one listed I haven't found. If you see any games on my trade fodder list that interest you I'll trade you for it. You might want to visit my webpage and then follow the link in the Atari 2600 section to Greg Chance's Classic Videogame History webpage and in the Atari 2600 section you'll find the VGR guide. Although not 100% accurate (and it makes no claims to be) it is the standard guide used by collectors to determine cartridge rarity. Download yourself a copy and print it out to use it as a checklist for your carts. But for Bira Bira's sake DON'T ever take it out with you when you go out to "Chase The Chuckwagon" (in classic video game collector's lingo this means going out to the thrift stores looking for old games). If thrift store dealers see you with any sort of list that makes it look like an official hobby they'll suddenly charge you an arm and a leg for the games they were just selling for $1 each. Another place you might want to check out is Oshea's LTD. It's a liquidation house. They recently uncovered a stash of hundreds of thousands of Atari 2600 and 7800 carts and sell them still in the shrinkwrap for 80 cents each. (beware of sleaze bags on Ebay who buy Oshea's carts and then auction them off to unwitting newbies as "rare" games). ~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~ >CJ is going to stop at Radio Shack on the way home & we're gonna see if we can >get the ol' unit going tonight. Also have no switchbox, and no >paddlewheels. But I'm not giving up the ship yet! ~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~ If you have an old Commodore 1702/1701 monitor there's a hack on my webpage to give you audio out and composite video out for the 2600. Paddles should be easily found at a local Salvation Army/Goodwill/Value Village type thrift store or a flea market. Garage sales are also a good source for classic video game finds. Incidently, Bugs and G.I. Joe are the only two games in your list that use the paddles. The rest are joystick games. ~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~ >Whoever you are, please come forward again, with the Atari Clock >Cartridge. I'm interested in buying one if they're available! ~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~ That would be me again. Not only is my "Video Time Machine" cartridge still available, but there are still limited edition label version of it available (there were 100 serial numbered, autographed, limited edition label version of the cart made). You can get my clock cartridge from Hozer Video Games. The URL to their site is in my sig file. As well, you can also get other new "homebrew" games and a copy of my "Rescue Bira Bira" cart. (For information on who Bira Bira is, see the many Bira Bira links on my webpage). ~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~ >Sorry for the unscheduled leap into Atariland..I just had to ask the >master if I Done Good? ~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~ You done good. And never appaulogize for leaping into Atariland. Incidently you may wish to subscribe to the newsgroup rec.games.video.classic Even just lurking there will teach you tonnes about the hobby of classic video game collecting. CRACKERS (Atariland is GOOD from hell!!!) - -- Collector of Atari 2600 carts - Accordionist - Bira Bira Devotee - Anime fan * http://www.hwcn.org/~ad329/crab.html | Crackers' Arts Base * * http://www.angelfire.com/ma/hozervideo/index.html | Hozer Video Games * Nihongo ga dekimasu - 2600 programmer - Father of 2 great kids - Canadian eh ------------------------------ End of alloy-digest V3 #284 ***************************